


Generation 1, Part 3

by alicecrow6



Series: An ever growing family of Bats and Birds [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batkids Age Reversal, Damian Wayne is Blackbird, Duke Thomas is Lark, Gen, Harper Row is Bluebird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27598268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicecrow6/pseuds/alicecrow6
Summary: Damian Wayne- Black Bird (13)Duke Thomas- Lark (12)Harper Row- Bluebird (10)This is the third in a series of Batkids Age Reversal fics where Damian comes first, then Harper, then Duke and so on.
Relationships: Duke Thomas & Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas & Harper Row & Damian Wayne, Harper Row & Damian Wayne
Series: An ever growing family of Bats and Birds [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998205
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Generation 1, Part 3

“Hi, my name’s Duke” the boy held out a hand and had a tired smile on his face. Perhaps if Damian had met him in different circumstances then he would have felt for this boy, he would have tried to comfort him.

But he didn't meet him in different circumstances, he met him because his father was taking him in.

Damian looked at the boy, then he looked at his father, then back to the boy.

“No” Damian tried to put as much willpower into the words as he could, like he could somehow stop this train wreck from happening simply by saying a single word.

“Damian,” his father said with narrowed eyes, Damian wasn't having any of that. 

He turned around and left, he didn't need to deal with this bullshit. He refused to deal with this bullshit.

“So what did you do next?”

“I left,” Damian said three hours later, laying down with Harper on a blanket she had put out on the ground. They were facing each other and Damian held on tightly to her hand as she drew comforting circles into his skin. 

“Damian” her voice was full of disappointment and Damian hated the fact that he was the reason it was put there.

“I know, but if I stayed there any longer I might have done something drastic that I can't take back” Damian tries to justify. Harper’s eyes are understanding but Damian sees how her lips tighten. He knows she’s about to say something that might brutalize him.

“I guess your right but Damian, it’s not his fault. Whatever your problems with Bruce, it’s not Duke’s fault,” Harper says firmly.

“You don't think I know that?” Damian hisses, his voice venom.

“I think you know it to the point that it hurts. I think that you want someone to blame because maybe if you blame Duke then you won't have to come to terms with the fact that your father went out and acquired a child that isn't you. You forget that I know you Damian, I know how you think, how you work, how you hate. I know that you’ll hate yourself but you’ll blame Duke because better Duke then Bruce” Harper's eyes are so full of understanding but Damian can't help but detest them.

“Fuck you Row” Damian spits out, getting up.

“Damian” Harper’s voice is steady and Damian hates her a bit for her composer.

“Fuck you,” he says again. Turning around and getting ready to leave.

Just as he’s about to walk away though a hand grabs his upper arm.

“I know you're angry at me, but please know that I’m saying this because I love you” Harper’s voice is small and Damian feels his anger deflate.

“I just need some space, I’ll be back in a few hours,” Damian says tiredly.

“Okay, but don't forget to come back”

“Never” his voice so full of certainty that it makes Harper smile.

A few hours go by before he finally returns, Harper’s dad is snoring loudly on the couch, and Cullen is curled up in his sister's arms as she attempts to soothe him.

He drops in silently and is quick to reach out his hands so that Harper can place Cullen into his arms. She does so gently, a hiss of pain leaving her mouth as his movement agitates one of her bruises.

“Hello Cullen,” he says softly to the younger boy. He sniffles slightly before dropping his head into Damian’s neck.

“Hi Damian,” Cullen says, his voice dry and scratchy. It makes Damian angry, so goddamn angry.

Harper cleans up her cuts and bruises before returning to a fuming Damian and an unconscious Cullen.

“Thank you” she whispers to him as she pulls Cullen from his arms. They put him to bed before Harper starts to get dressed for patrol.

The two are out of the apartment and back into the night 30 minutes later.

“I hate him,” Harper tells him a few hours later. It’s a slow night so they had decided to get some ice cream.

“I can get my father to adopt you and Cullen, he’s already shown he’s fine with taking in children so it wouldn't be a stretch for him to take you in as well,” Damian says, trying to come up with a solution.

“Damian, your dad hates me. He would never adopt me and honestly? I don't want him to. I’m gonna wait till I'm 15, get emancipated, and leave with Cullen,” Harper’s voice is full of determination and Damian believes her.

“Maybe we can get an apartment together,” Damian says, voicing out a half baked idea made out of genuine want.

“You'd hate it,” Harper snorted.

“Would not” Damian defends, an affronted hand placed delicately on his chest. He’s the picture of offended.

“Damian I know you, you're a solitary creature that needs space and privacy, there’s no way you’d be able to move into a small ass apartment with me and a toddler,” Harper rolls her eyes and Damian considers her points seriously.

“Your right, I’ll definitely visit though”

“I’d be offended if you didn't, in fact, I’ve already decided on which brand of inflatable mattress to buy you,” Harper says with a grin. Damian rolls his eyes at her but tries desperately to hide a pleased upturn of his lips.

“Hey, so your Damian right?” Duke says after Damian finally comes back to the manor. He’d stayed with Harper for two weeks and had only returned to restock. It figures that Thomas would be there.

“Obviously,” Damian rolls his eyes. Duke tightens his fists and an angry expression crosses his face before he suppresses it.

“Look, I just wanted to talk to you. I found out that Bruce is Batman and your Blackbird”

“Then he said that he was going to become a vigilante too!”

“Wow, what did you say?” Harper asked from her spot next to him on the roof.

“I said that it was dangerous and it was probably better he had this conversation with father,” Damian said with a shrug.

“So you ran” Harper raised an eyebrow and Damian immediately went on the defensive.

“I didn't run,” Damian said stiffly.

“Damian, I'm sorry to say this to you pal, but you totally ran. Duke came to you for help and you spat in his face and laughed no,” Harper’s eyes were sharp as they cut into him, but her words were sharper.

“It's not like I can help him!” Damian shouted. His breathing coming in hard at the perceived insult.

“Bullshit!” Harper yelled back.

“Why do you even care about him!”

“Oh for fucks sake- I don't care about him but I do care about you and I know for a fact that you care,” Harper tried to explain. Damian wasn't having any of it though, not today.

“I don’t care” Damian narrowed his eyes at her. She gave a mean laugh.

“Oh yeah? Then how come you can't stand to look at him?” Harper mocked.

“Maybe he’s ugly!” Damian lashed out.

“He could be the ugliest bastard in the world and you’d still be able to look him in the eye,” Harper poked him in the chest to get her point across better.

“Fuck you Row” Damian snarled.

“Articulate,” Harper snarked in a surprisingly good imitation of Damian.

The two stopped talking after that.

They continued patrol but when it was time to go home Damian didn't return with Harper and she knew far better than to push the point. She had gone as far as she could today.

Damian sat alone in an abandoned warehouse and wished Duke Thomas would just do him a favor and die.

He’d already ruined his relationship with his father and now he had to go and ruin his relationship with Harper too?

But that wasn't quite right now, was it.

Damian let out a sigh through his nose and wished he could ignore all the signs that said he was the one in the wrong.

But he couldn't, he couldn’t because Damian wasn't stupid. 

Damian got up with a tried groan.

“Get up Thomas” Damian shook at Duke’s shoulder. He had snuck into the manor and was currently trying to get his new “brother” up.

“Damian?” Duke slurred. Damian rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to say something mean and unwarranted.

He waited until Duke was sufficiently awake before he started talking.

“You said you wanted to be a vigilante like me and Batman right?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Well here's your chance. I’m gonna train you for a few months and then I’m gonna take you out on the field with me. My only rules are that you don't tell father and that when I give you an order you fucking listen,” Damian growled. Duke looked at him with wide eyes but nodded quickly in agreement.

Damian let a pleased smile spill onto his lips.

“You're getting better,” Damian complemented. Duke smiled at the comment and Damian smiled back.

It had been two months since Damian had started training Duke, two months since he had last talked to his father, two months since he had last talked to Harper.

Blackbird was temporarily solo and Damian didn't like it. It felt wrong to be out and about without someone to share observations with, without someone to laugh with, without someone to share Ice Cream with.

“Thanks, Dami” there was something new that came with Duke, nicknames. Harper had respected his bounders enough to not call him any variation of his name, but Duke seemed to take perverse glee from annoying Damian.

Damian rolled his eyes.

“So, Damian, do you think I could start patrol anytime soon?” Duke said with fake causality.

“You're not nearly ready enough for that” Damian said firmly, that soon deteriorated after a few minutes of Duke’s insistent whining.

“Fine, but only if you always stay in my line of sight and follow my orders” Damian relented. He rubbed his forehead and frowned at Duke’s cheering.

“This isn't a joke Duke, I’m serious,” Duke rolled his eyes at him and Damian resisted the urge to take back his words.

Dear god he already regretted this.

The night had started out well. Duke had taken care of a few muggers easily and Damian observed with laser-eyed focus.

It wasn't until the two-hour mark that things went to shit.

A familiar figure flung themselves at him and Damian braced for impact.

The two rolled to a stop at the edge of a building as Bluebird attempted to punch his nose into his skull.

Damian blocked as best as he could.

(he ignored the feeling of pride that came from seeing Harper’s increase in skill)

“Damn you! Damn you you bastard!”

“Bluebird down!” Damian ordered. Harper didn't listen though. No, instead she continued to try and pound her way to his brain.

Duke finally seemed to come to his senses enough to drag Harper off his body as she tried to fight him off to get back to beating Damian senseless. 

Damian spits out a glob of blood and Harper finally tired herself out. Duke looked at Damian in confusion, no doubt wondering what he was supposed to do now.

“Let her go,” Damian told him. He released her from her arms and she dropped from his arms to her knees.

Damian hesitantly crawled towards her.

“Harper?”

“I hate you,” Harper said with a simmering type of rage. Damian held back a flinch, he supposed he deserved that.

“I love you,” he told her honestly. She let out a cry of rage and slammed herself against him. 

Damian fell to his back with an oof, he braced himself against any coming attacks but she simply held herself up against him. Duke made a move to come and drag her off him but Damian shook his head no.

Damian reached up an arm and wrapped it around her waist. He lowered her against him as she trembled.

Eventually, after a few minutes, a tear escaped her eyes. Then another followed, and another. Soon his uniform felt damp.

She let out a loud cry and her tears fell in earnest then. Damian felt his own eyes go damp before he followed her into a mess of tears, snot, and irritated skin.

An hour and a very awkward Duke later they were finally done.

“I’m angry at you,” Harper said into his chest.

“I'm sorry,” Damian told her honestly.

“Not good enough. Were supposed to be partners, partners don't just abandon each other for newer models” Harper said bitterly.

“Is this what you think is happening?” Damian asked in genuine confusion. Harper snorted at the question.

“Why else would you stop patrolling with me and then show up with another vigilante?”

“Duke, tell her your code name,” Damian said suddenly, making both Duke and Harper blink at the sudden change in conversation.

“What?” Duke asked.

“Tell her your code name,” Damian repeated.

“Oh um, Lark” Duke then did an awkward wave that Harper would, later on, mock him for, but for now, she was silent.

Then, suddenly, laughter.

It was breathless, joyful, relief filled laughter.

It was glorious for Damian who hadn't heard it in so long.

“Guess this duo has become a trio,” Harper said, smile sharp enough to cut glass. Damian sagged down into the ground, glad she had understood what he had been trying to say.

“Don't think you off the hook yet mister” Harper reminded him.

“Wouldn't dream of it” Damian looked up then at Duke. he looked like he was uncertain of what to do, like he was lonely.

Damian looked at Harper and saw her eyes staring up at him, a determined look in her eyes. They both grinned in unison.

Damian looked at Duke and made a come hither motion.

Duke hesitantly walked a few steps forward before Harper grabbed him by the leg and pulled him into their cuddle pile.

**Author's Note:**

> Damian Wayne- Black Bird (13)  
> Duke Thomas- Lark (12)  
> Harper Row- Bluebird (10)
> 
> The next story will develop their relationship a bit more.


End file.
